My company being sold, hmm . . . .

[TheGameAh]

I found out a few days ago that the primary shareholders in our company want to sell the company by the end of the year.  I don't blame them, as they're all 80+ years old, and I'm sure looking to retire.  I'm trying to figure out what this means though.

I'm the only one who knows about this, so I have a head start if I need to look for another job.  However, it's possible that the owners are merely stepping down, and new owners are stepping in.  I run the entire IT dept., so you'd think I'd be pretty safe.  However, it's also quite possible that we all may have to look for other jobs.  I guess it depends on the intentions of the new owners.  Crazy stuff.

[Odin]

I feel your pain. I was an IT manager a year and a half ago. The casino I worked for decided to make a major shift in their IT direction and my boss (the IT director), another IT manager and I found ourselves out of a job. Despite pretty good experience and some great references (people who were well-known and respected in the local IT community who were actively recommending me to people) I not only didn't get a job, but after more than a year of active prospecting, I hadn't gotten so much as a phone-screen. I've recently given up on my goal of continuing my IT management career and gotten licensed as a real estate agent.

Obviously everybody doesn't have this kind of terrible response. Your experience, credentials, industry contacts, and the nature of your market will be different than mine. If you suspect you may be looking for work, I'd recommend getting your resume updated, contact some headhunters (or take their calls that you've probably been ignoring up until now), and look for ways to make contact with other local IT shops and professionals. We have an Association for Computing Machinery chapter here that's fairly well-attended, for example.

Beyond that, I'm not in much of a position to give advice. I'll just wish you good luck that you either get to keep your job or you find another one quickly.

Sith

[Phouka]

I run the entire IT dept., so you'd think I'd be pretty safe.

In your specific case that may be true, but in general I think it isn't. When companies merge, HR and IT departments are often hard hit because of overlap in job responsibilities. This is especially true for smaller companies getting bought by larger companies: you can expect the smaller company's HR and IT departments to virtually disappear.

I've been through it a number of times. The supercomputer center I was at was bought by Cray, who was then bought by SGI... I jumped ship to another company (a large telco) that was bought by an even larger one... Seen it 'nuff times.

That said, every merger is a bit different. So maybe instead of your job being threatened, you'd end up being on the busy end of trying to merge two IT departments.

Pooks

[TheGameAh]

Good point Phou.  Again, like you said, I don't know.  I don't even know who's buying us.  It might not be another company, it could be just another group of shareholders.  So basically, nothing could change at all here except for the Org. Chart.  However, EVERYTHING could change    Gotta keep my eyes open.

[gorky1]

Reading threads like this makes me want to change from computer science to math and become a teacher.

Good luck, GameAh, and keep us posted!  

[TheGameAh]

Ironic news:

I just got a raise today.

Weird stuff, indeed.  The company is doing a good job of business as usual.  Like I said, I'm the only common employee who knows what's going on.  Hopefully this just means good stuff for the future.  We shall see in a few months.

[ericb]

What...you're in IT and you got a raise?  Now we know you're lying  :twisted:

[happydog]

A raise right before the sale? Sounds like they are trying to keep ya.

[TheGameAh]

A raise right before the sale? Sounds like they are trying to keep ya.

Or they just might not care since they're selling in a few months anyway.